Local Initiative - Healthy Watersheds Project

Volunteers wanted for Healthy Watersheds Project

Ecology Ottawa is looking for volunteers to get involved in this great local improvement initiative. The Healthy Watersheds project will engage Ecology Ottawa volunteers to get their handsdirty for the sake of healthy rivers. Neighbourhood Teams, working within the context of theEcology Ottawa Community Network, will be encouraged to “adopt-a-stream” and will beprovided with the support needed to run events and improve the health of the watershed intheir neighbourhood through practical means, including creek/stream clean-ups, rain barrelinstallations, permeable pavements, and rain gardens.

Why we need the Healthy Watersheds project

Our local streams provide essential health services by keeping our water clean and our riversand beaches accessible. Streams also provide important recreational benefits and opportunitiesto spend time in nature and are cornerstones of local ecosystems. Over 23 creeks and streamsrun through communities across Ottawa. The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s (RVCA)City Stream Watch program performs thorough assessments of these streams every 6 yearsand coordinates restoration projects on 3-4 streams per year. These stewardship activities aredependent on volunteer help. The annual monitoring and clean-up work is coordinated undera program called Adopt-a-Stream. To date, 2 of the 23+ streams in Ottawa have been adopted.Ecology Ottawa can help increase that number.

What Healthy Watershed Teams will do

Through the Healthy Watersheds project, Ecology Ottawa will support the work of the RVCAby enabling community teams to Adopt-a-Stream in their neighbourhood. Ecology OttawaCommunity Organizers will reach out to the community, establish Neighbourhood Teams,organize training days and hold events to clean up and care for Ottawa’s rivers and streams.Ecology Ottawa will coordinate getting volunteers out to the clean-up events and provideteams with the resources they need. For communities that cannot adopt a stream due to lack ofaccess, the Neighbourhood Teams will organize hands-on demonstrations of installations of rainbarrels, permeable pavements, or rain gardens. Four to six Healthy Watersheds NeighbourhoodTeams will be established each year and each team will initiate a clean-up initiative.

Project Partners

Ecology Ottawa will partner with several organizations with expertise and interest in protectingOttawa’s watersheds, including the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, the Ottawa RiverKeeper, the City of Ottawa, Nature Canada and the Master Gardeners of Ottawa.